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Election Day 2018: Republicans Kept The Senate, While Democrats Took Control Of The House And Gained Governors

Two years into the first billionaire president's term, voters had their chance to evaluate of the direction the country on Tuesday. Though he wasn't on the ballot, a number of races were turned into a referendum on President Trump.

In a result largely expected by pollsters, Republicans have retained control of the Senate and Democrats will take control of the House of Representatives. Additionally, Democrats made gains on the state level, flipping control of governor's mansions in Midwest states like Kansas, Michigan and Illinois.

Billionaires were big players in this election, pouring millions into campaigning for both their preferred candidates and local ballot measures. And in one case, that candidate was the billionaire - J.B. Pritzker. The Hyatt heir easily won his gubernatorial race in Illinois, unseating incumbent Republican Governor Bruce Rauner by a 15% margin. The victory will make him the richest sitting politician in the country when he takes office.

Republicans have retained control of the Senate. The GOP currently has 52 Senate seats. The Democrats have 47 (45 Democrats plus 2 independents). The remaining Senate race advanced to a runoff election scheduled for later this month.

Democrats will take control of the House of Representatives. 201 seats have been called for the GOP and 234 for Democrats, giving Democrats a 33-seat majority in the chamber.

Going into Tuesday's election, Republicans held 235 seats in the House of Representatives. Polls had consistently given the Democrats a lead in the generic ballot this election cycle, and during midterms it’s common for the opposition party to the White House to gain seats. And that's what happened. The Democrats regained control of the House in commanding fashion.

Race for the Senate

Going into this election, the odds were massively in the GOP’s favor. Of the 35 seats up for grabs, only 9 were held by Republicans, putting the Democrats on defense in 26 races. Sure enough, the Republican Party was able to hold on to the Senate. The party currently has 52 seats and the chance to pick up one - in Mississippi, where the election will be heading to a runoff later in November between Republican Cindy Hyde-Smith and Democrat Mike Espy.

Race for Governor's mansions

There were 36 gubernatorial races on Tuesday, and Democrats were able to flip several governor’s mansions blue, notably in red states like Kansas, where Democrat Laura Kelly defeated Trump ally Kris Kobach.

Although governor’s races are mostly local affairs, a few races have caught national attention. One of those races was the Florida race between Tallahassee mayor Andrew Gillum and former Representative Ron DeSantis. This race both attention and money - billionaires like Tom Steyer and Isaac Perlmutter have poured millions into this race. In the end, DeSantis emerged victorious.

Georgia gubernatorial candidates (L-R) Clash in First Debate

Getty Images

Another gubernatorial race attracting a lot of attention is in Georgia. What was thought earlier this year to be a safe bet for GOP candidate Secretary of State Brian Kemp has turned into a tight race between him and Stacey Abrams, who had formerly been minority leader of the Georgia House of Representatives. Despite the close nature of the election, Kemp squeaked out a narrow lead and managed to avoid a runoff.

In Florida, Republican Rick Scott won the Senate race and Ron DeSantis has won the race for Governor. All races have been called at this point.

Friday, November 16 - Democratic candidate for Georgia governor Stacey Abrams has conceded the race, making Republican Brian Kemp the winner of the gubernatorial election.

Tuesday, November 13 - The Democrats have expanded their lead in the House with 8 seats left to be called in the election. They also picked up another Senate seat in Arizona, where Kyrsten Sinema won the election for the Senate seat vacated by Republican Jeff Flake, who chose not to run for another term. That leaves just one Senate seat left to be called in Florida, where the race between Rick Scott and Bill Nelson has gone to a recount. The race for Florida governor is also heading towards a recount, while the race for Georgia governor is now in legal limbo in the court system.

3:28pm - The victory margins in the race for both Florida governor and Florida Senate have shrunk to the point where Florida law dictates that a mandatory recount be held.

Thursday, 9:32am - A few more results are coming in. The Democrats have gained three more seats in the House of Representatives with 11 races still not called. Senate races in Arizona and Florida are still too close to call and votes are still being counted in the Georgia governor's race to determine if there will be a runoff.

2:20pm - A record number of women will soon be serving on Capitol Hill with at least 110 newly-elected female officials heading to the Senate and House of Representatives this January. Read all about them.

2:06pm - Democrat Jon Tester was re-elected to the Senate from Montana.

11:13am - Democrat Ned Lamont has been elected governor in Connecticut.

10:53am - In the Florida Senate race between Rick Scott and Bill Nelson, Scott's lead has dipped below a half a percent. Nelson is calling for a recount.

9:41am - It looks like Republican Mike Dunleavy has been elected governor of Alaska.

8:43am - Nevada residents rejected a ballot measure that sought to end the monopoly that NV Energy, owned by Buffett's Berkshire Hathaway, has long enjoyed in providing electricity to Nevada. Voters opted for the status quo, rather than opening up the energy market to competition. Read the full story.

8:40am - Voters approved ballot measures creating a “victims’ bill of rights” in a half-dozen states, bankrolled by the billionaire cofounder of semiconductor firm Broadcom. Read the full story.

8:23am - A San Francisco ballot measure addressing homelessness known as Prop C has passed. The measure, which was supported by tech billionaires like Marc Benioff and opposed by others, will raise corporate taxes for the purpose of creating a fund to help the homeless population of the city. Read more about it.

8:19am - Democrats currently have 219 seats in the House of Representatives, giving the party control of that Congressional chamber. Democrats also won in Nevada - Steve Sisolak won the governor's race and Jacky Rosen was elected to the Senate.

2:32am - Democrat Dianne Feinstein has been re-elected to the Senate in California.

2:28am - Democrat Tony Evers has been elected as governor of Wisconsin.

12:57am - Republican Brad Little has been elected governor of Idaho, and Republican Kristi Noem has been elected governor of South Dakota.

12:40am - Democrat Janet Mills has been elected the governor of Maine.

12:33am - Republican Kim Reynolds has been re-elected as governor of Iowa.

12:08am - Here's a more in-depth look at Andrew Gillum's loss in the Florida governor's race - and the millions that poured into it.

12:02am - Democrat Gavin Newsom has been elected governor of California.

Wednesday 12:00am - Mississippi's special election for a Senate seat is heading for a Nov. 27 runoff, which will feature Republican Cindy Hyde-Smith versus Democrat Mike Espy. (Mississippi's other Senate election was won by Republican Roger Wicker).

11:56pm - Republican Josh Hawley has defeated incumbent Democrat Claire McCaskill to be elected to the Senate in Missouri.

11:42pm - Democrat Kate Brown has been re-elected governor of Oregon.

11:37pm - Two tough governor's races have results now. Democrat Laura Kelly was been elected governor in Kansas and Republican Ron DeSantis has been elected governor of Florida.

11:33pm - Democrat Maria Cantwell has been re-elected to the Senate from Washington.

11:24pm - Democrat Debbie Stabenow has been re-elected to the Senate from Michigan.

11:17pm - Republican Phil Scott has been re-elected governor of Vermont. Republican Doug Ducey has been re-elected governor of Arizona. Republican Chris Sununu has been re-elected governor of New Hampshire.

11:10pm - Democrat David Ige has been re-elected governor of Hawaii. Republican Mike DeWine was elected governor of Ohio.

11:04pm - Democrat Tina Smith has been re-elected to the Senate in Minnesota. Democrat Mazie Hirono has been re-elected to the Senate in Hawaii.

10:55pm - Democrat Michelle Lujan Grisham has been elected governor of New Mexico.

10:51pm - Democrat Tim Walz was elected governor in Minnesota.

10:45pm - Republican Kevin Cramer has won election to the U.S. Senate in North Dakota. With this election, the Republicans are now assured to retain control of the Senate.

10:33pm - The House now stands at 118 seats for Republicans and 103 for Democrats.

10:32pm - Republican Ted Cruz has been re-elected to the Senate in Texas.

10:21pm - Republican Deb Fischer has been re-elected to the Senate in Nebraska.

10:13pm - Democrat Sharice Davids has defeated incumbent Republican Kevin Yoder in the Kansas 3rd District. Davids joins New Mexico's Deb Haaland tonight as the first Native American women to be elected to the House of Representatives.

10:11pm - Republican Marsha Blackburn has been elected to the Senate in Tennessee.

10:07pm - Former Republican Presidential candidate Mitt Romney has been elected to the Senate in Utah.

10:03pm - Democrat Gretchen Whitmer has been elected the governor of Michigan.

10:02pm - Republican Kevin Stitt has been re-elected of governor of Oklahoma.

9:54pm - Democrat Tammy Baldwin has been re-elected in Wisconsin. Democrat Martin Heinrich has been re-elected in New Mexico.

9:49pm - Democrats Joe Manchin in West Virginia and Amy Klobuchar in Minnesota have been re-elected to the Senate.

9:45pm - Republican Kay Ivey has been re-elected in Alabama. Republican Henry McMaster has been re-elected in South Carolina.

9:26pm - Democrat J.B. Pritzker has won the race for governor after spending $171.5 million of his own money. Once he assumes office, he will be the richest person holding office in the United States.

9:16pm - Republican Larry Hogan has been re-elected in Maryland. Democrat Tom Wolf has been re-elected in Pennsylvania. Republican Mark Gordon has been re-elected in Wyoming. Republican Greg Abbott has been re-elected in Texas. Democrat Andrew Cuomo has been re-elected in New York.

9:15pm - Democrat Bob Casey was re-elected in Pennsylvania, Republican Roger was re-elected in Mississippi. Republican John Barrasso was re-elected in Wyoming. Democrat Kirsten Gillibrand was re-elected in New York.

8:58pm - Democrat Bob Menendez has been re-elected in New Jersey.

8:50pm - The House results now stand at 42 Republicans and 37 Democrats. So far, Democrats have only gained two seats.

8:40pm - Republican Bill Lee has been elected governor of Tennessee.

8:38pm - Democrat Gina Raimondo has been re-elected as governor of Rhode Island.

8:34pm - Republican Asa Hutchinson has been re-elected as governor of Arkansas.

8:31pm - In a key race, Democrat Jennifer Wexton won in Virginia's 10th District, flipping the district from Republican to Democrat. The count now stands at 31 Republicans and 28 Democrats.

8:17pm - Democrat Sherrod Brown has won re-election in Ohio.

8:10pm - The race for the House now stands at 22 Democrats and 18 Republicans.

8:08pm - Republican Charlie Baker has been re-elected as governor of Massachusetts.